Just a short day today down to Đồng Hới. The country is very narrow here, so heading to the coast is not far.
Needless to say, I had an easy start – breakfast at the hotel, coffee just up the road and I got a Banh Mi at the local village by the river.
Further up the river I had a WhatsApp call with the kids. Minou is in Sydney, and Timo and Kath are in South America, so through the wonders of technology, we were able to have a video call and it was a lot of fun. It was windy beside the river, so I had to hold the phone up, facing the road to minimise the wind noise. The funny part was that people going past on motorbikes and things thought they were being photographed, so I got all sorts of waves and smiles while on the call 😁
After that, it was an easy run into Dong Hoi to the Nam Long Plus Hotel. Komoot took me in via the tradesman’s entrance to the city, to some strange looks from locals while navigating some bumpy small lanes.
The hotel is far from full. They gave me the one room on the top floor with 270 degree views of the river, ocean and city. It’s a huge room and it’s super nice, for only VND310k.
I was lucky to get some food for a late lunch as most places were shutting after lunch. I then relaxed in a great coffee shop and people-watched, went for a walk, and then rode over to the beach.
Đồng Hới is a nice place and it’s great to see the ocean again. The last time was in Hua Hin on Aug 23. There’s quite a bit of unfinished development towards the main beach area, and I’m unsure if it’s still proceeding but this place certainly has loads of potential. They’ve done a lot of lighting and effects on bridges and around the city. It looks spectacular and really makes the place inviting in the early evening.
The Riverside is quite nice and this evening there was street food and lots of people wandering around. I rode down the river through the produce markets and back. I also went past clothing stalls on the side of the road. One of them was selling formal jackets and trousers but I can’t imagine people going for a leisurely stroll by the river on a Saturday afternoon and buying a suit.
Dinner was Com Tam Roast Chicken from around the corner and was excellent. There seems to be more meat on the bones here than what you get in Laos.
I expect to be fairly close to the coast for a while now and I also expect the travelling to be easier as a result. By that, I mean the ease of access to food, water and good accomodation. The north east monsoon is something I’m a little wary of, although this should ease as I head further south. However, that won’t happen in the next week of riding so fingers and toes are crossed for some more good weather.
